As a B Corp, PICnet knows the importance of putting people and environment before profits. So we always get excited when more companies join the ranks.

Each quarter, B Lab, the nonprofit organization that supports and fosters businesses to solve social and environmental problems, holds a State of the B Corp address where they update all the B Corps on what success they’ve had in the last quarter. And from last week’s call, I can tell you that B Corps had a banner 2012!

Yesterday, our fellow B Corporation member Arabella Advisors, wrote a great blog by Ginger Elsea about Why Foundations Should Care About B Corps. She laid out the fantastic case for why foundations that are looking to increase their investing portfolio’s diversity should invest in B Corporations. As she wrote, “As more foundations pursue impact investing—channeling funds to for-profit businesses that also advance a social mission—B Corp certification can serve as a useful starting point in identifying such businesses.”

We’re big proponents of “if you’re going to talk the talk, you better walk the walk”, so her words definitely ring true to us at PICnet.

What about taking this a step further though? What if foundations not only invested in similarly socially-conscious organizations, they also did business with these well-aligned businesses as well? With the parent non-profit organization of B Corporation, B Lab, continuing to certify and play a watchful eye on the B Corporation community, foundations have a partner that can assist them in finding the best companies to provide them needed services and products.

As many of you know, PICnet is a B Corporation, a socially responsible business with the triple bottom line of people, planet and profit. We’re grateful to be a part of an amazing group of businesses who are similar-minded.

One of those businesses is PICnet-client Back to the Roots (BTTR). Back to the Roots was founded by two UC Berkeley students, Alejandro Velez & Nikhil Arora, who were inspired to make a product from used coffee grounds. What they came up with was a mushroom kit where, in as little as 10 days, you can grow your own mushrooms from your kitchen windowsill! Skeptical? I was too…until we experimented in the DC office and got fabulous results. I even made myself a mushroom and cheese omelet with mushrooms from the kit! Read more »

We’re sharing this video of Simon Sinek speaking at TED around PICnet’s virtual water cooler today. We couldn’t resist sharing it more broadly through this channel.

As a B Corporation with a mission to empower organizations through technology – a company with a why at the center of what we do that is about serving a whole lot of nonprofits with a why at the center of they do – the entire 18 minutes and 5 seconds resonated with us. Take a moment to be inspired and reconnect with your why that can inspire action and change the world.

If you’re a socially responsible business doing good for the world, you should be able to spread your message without it costing you an arm and a leg. I mean, aren’t there already enough barriers to entry for companies trying to do business the right way in today’s “cut costs at any means” world?

We’re pleased to announce a 50% discount off our standard monthly fee for Soapbox Mailer for Salesforce to all B Corporations. With Soapbox Mailer, organizations can send mass emails directly from within Salesforce, complete with campaign analytics, integrations with Facebook and Twitter, reporting, and a ton of other features.

Starting today, companies no longer need to pay ridiculously high rates to send professional mass emails to customers and prospects. For many B Corporations using Salesforce, this could easily mean a 90% savings in their mass email costs versus other services. And with a transaction rate of only $0.10 per 1,000 emails sent, you won’t need to worry about cutting down your list just to stay within a budget.

Benefit Corporations are no stranger to being ahead of the curve, and that especially true for B Lab’s new website that spotlights these trailblazing organizations. For those of you who haven’t heard the word about Benefit Corporations, they are a “new class” of corporation that are re-imagining the way that business does business in order to affect positive change in the world.

If you’d like to see a list of this growing community of socially responsible businesses, the new BenefitCorp.net website will grant that wish. And given that their Benefit Corp search directory is fed live from B Lab’s CRM database—Salesforce.com— you’ll be able to see the list automagically grow almost before your eyes as more and more organizations join the ranks. Read more »

As a B Corp, PICnet puts an emphasis on people, environment, and then profits. We have higher legal standards and must meet comprehensive social and environmental standards. For many businesses, this school of thinking might be backward, but for B Corps, it’s a part of our vision and goals. There are more than 450 B Corporations in 60 various industries across the United States and Europe. PICnet was proud to become a B Corp in April of 2010.

So it makes perfect sense that as a B Corp, we support other B Corporations whose similarly-minded business models fit in so perfectly with ours. When I learned about Give Something Back, a fellow B Corporation that offers office supplies at a cheaper rate than the average office supply chain, I jumped at the chance to purchase and help support a fellow B Corp. What I found is that the products were not only much cheaper, but I also received free shipping AND had them delivered next day.

Sounds great so far, right? Here’s the kicker: Give Something Back donates 75% of their profits to their community; that is 75x the national corporate giving average! They’ve been changing the game since 1991 and were one of the founding B Corps. Read more »

As a certified B Corporation, socially conscious business practices run deep in our DNA. We believe that companies can be even more successful by looking beyond their bottom-line when delivering services and creating products. More businesses should take into account their impact on the planet, their people, and their customers. That’s why we’re excited to be part of the Hitachi Foundation’s2011 Yoshiyama Young Entrepreneurs Program.

The program, “identifies and supports inspiring young entrepreneurs who are operating businesses that create greater economic opportunity and help to improve the lives of low-wealth individuals in America.” At PICnet, we’ve enjoyed helping this next generation of entrepreneurs better understand how to more effectively utilize the Web to spread their brand and ideals, while also reaching new customers.

There’s a lot to be learned from these socially responsible entrepreneurs, and tonight, we’ll celebrating their success in Washington, DC, along with our friends from the class of 2010…like Back to the Roots.

Thanks to PICnetters Amber and Tim for leading forward on the effort to analyze these entrepreneurs’ websites, and provide them tips to be more effective. Congratulations to the 2011 class of Yoshiyama Young Entrepreneurs!

PICnet loves nonprofits. It’s true. We’re head over heels gaga in love. It’s more than just a schoolyard crush or a passing fling. We’ve been faithfully committed to nonprofits in word and deed as our true love from the beginning. Last year, we made it official. We signed on the dotted line. We filed the paperwork. It’s legal and lifelong, an enduring commitment certified through our status as a social-responsible B Corporation.

Why? We’re soul mates, you see – bound together by common missions to make this floating rock we’re spinning on a better place by looking after the planet and its people. It’s bound up in our DNA as a company and permeates our work with nonprofit clients in building websites that help manifest their mission.

PICnet is happy to hang out with like-minded B Corporations who serve nonprofits. The name for such a hip, swinging crew, you ask? Well, B Corporations for Nonprofits, of course! Check out http://www.bcorpsfornonprofits.com, straight out of its bubble wrap this morning, for a full list of nonprofit-loving B Corps and the impressive range of services we offer.

B Corporations for Nonprofits was brought together for a purpose. That purpose was well-put by Randy Paynter, the founder and CEO of Care2, ahead of a press conference PICnet, Care2, and PhilanTech held today in support of the new group:

“Nonprofits today can choose to work with service providers that share their commitment toward bettering society and the planet,” said Paynter. “It’s a way to spend dollars to strengthen, rather than weaken, an organization’s social mission.”

If you’re a nonprofit looking for some heartfelt love and mission-amplifying choice amongst service providers, check out B Corporations for Nonprofits.

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About Us

We're a group of passionate technologists (and a penguin) focused on delivering ridiculously awesome online engagement solutions for organizations through Soapbox Engage, Non-Profit Soapbox, and Soapbox Mailer. We enjoy long walks on the beach, burritos by candlelight, and taking work seriously, but not ourselves seriously.